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1.4.1-Kingedmundsroyalmurder
Brick!club chapter 1 (bk 4): of ugly crying and poor decision making And so begins the part we all knew was coming. The part where all happiness has withered into dust and Hugo begins to truly live up to his choice of book titles and I bemoan the kindle text box feature’s lack of anguished italics. So, in order to ease us in slowly let us talk about Hugo’s choice of nouns. More specifically his choice of nouns rather than Fantine’s name. We’re (re)introduced to her through a longish description that, in typical Hugolian fashion, ends with her name despite everyone knowing who she was the second she was introduced. Before that she’s mostly just ‘the woman’ with a couple ‘the mother’s thrown in for good measure. And then we get some Fantines as he describes her life in Paris post-prank (which we’ll get to later on because what is a linear thought process?). And the second we switch back to narrative present she’s immediately ‘the mother’ (which is confusing because Mme. Thenardier is also the mother), ‘the traveler,’ ‘the newcomer,’ etc. Never Fantine. It’s as though Fantine died when Tholomyes letf and all she has left is her identity as a mother. Which I know isn’t quite true, since I assume we’ll get her name later, but it’s striking here. Okay, that wasn’t too bad. Um, what else can we talk about before we get into the terrible sadness? Hugo’s imagery is back and it’s as much fun as ever. I love the description of the cart. And the chain. The description of the chain is gorgeous: Cette chaîne faisait songer, non aux poutres qu’elle avait fonction de transporter, mais aux mastodontes et aux mammons qu’elle eût pu atteler; elle avait un air de bagne, mais de bagne cyclopéen et surhumain, et elle semblait détachée de quelque monstre. (This chain made one think, not of the beams that it had served to transport, but of the mastodons and mammoths it could have harnessed; it had the feeling of a prison, but a colossal and superhuman prison, and it seemed to have been unhooked from some monster.) I’m not going to call it a metaphor for systemic oppression, because I think that’s stretching things a bit far even for Hugo, who likes his metaphors but also likes his dramatic descriptions. But it would be so easy to read it as that, especially with the references to prisons. It is the chain that holds down society, the prison shackle of the world that Valjean railed against and Enjolras will try to dismantle. Or maybe it’s just a giant chain that merits such grandiose description in Hugo’s mind. Either way it’s pretty. Also this, which is related: rien n’était charmant comme ce caprice du hasard, qui avait fait d’une chaîne de titans une escarpolette de chérubins. nothing was charming like this caprice of chance that had turned a titan’s chain into a swing for cherubs. Every time I want to be angry at Hugo for his oppressive foreshadowing and excessive monologues he throws me something gorgeous like this and I have to forgive him. Pretty language is such a weakness of mine. ~sigh~ Right, but enough about that. Time to get down to the actual plot of the chapter. So Fantine is not the best judge of character in the world, though to be fair to her there’s nothing in the Thenardies’ demeanor that marks them as ‘actively evil,’ just a bit mercenary. And yes, leaving your child with someone you don’t know isn’t the smartest move, but she clearly thinks that she has no choice but to leave Cosette somewhere and thinks she’s making the best choice. We the reader know it’s not, but we the reader are gifted with knowledge that Fantine is not. And we keep getting these lovely and utterly heartbreaking descriptions of the girls both separately and together that exist to take our hearts and stomp on them. I mean, what are we supposed to do with this except cry bitterly for what might have been? Leurs fronts radieux se touchaient; on eût dit trois têtes dans une auréole. Their radiant foreheads were touching; one would have said three heads in a halo. Dammit these girls are going to need friends so badly later and their circumstances won’t allow them to befriend each other and it hurts. Physical beauty is a really big thread running through this chapter I notice. There’s the intense focus on the three girls, all of whom are described as beautiful and innocent (and Cosette’s description reminds me of Fantine’s from last book and I’m not entirely sure I’m comfortable with that. Physically obviously they look alike, but then we get into how Cosette is melancholy at times and radiant with innocence and I begin to wish that Hugo could find different ways to describe solemnity.) And Fantine is redescribed to show how things have changed (though she still has hints of her beauty because her spirit hasn’t been completely crushed. (“Fantine, on le verra, avait la farouche bravoure de la vie.” Fantine, we shall see, had the fierce bravery of life.) I have somehow become a huge Fantine fan and she is breaking my heart.) And then of course there’s Mme. Thenardier, who is distinctly Not Beautiful, which is yet more Roald Dahl style ‘inner ugliness will always shine through’. (Also, why is she still young at thirty while Favourite was old at 23? Is it because she’s married and so gets to move up a level and has her Youth Cap increased?) What else? Tholomyes is a complete asshat and it is officially my headcanon that in the 21st year after the prank he gets run over by a cart and dies alone in terrible agony over like three days or something. I too am sad that the girls didn’t stay friends, though it doesn’t surprise me that Fantine removed herself from the group. She never really fit in with them to begin with and without the boys she hasn’t got anything in common. (Well, actually, I maintain that she does have things in common with them, but I will accept that those may not include interests and desired conversational topics, which are important in friendships.) Hugo manages to describe the sublime in 9 words, which is damned impressive: et elles avaient peur, et elles étaient en extase. and they were afraid, and they were in ecstasy. (Okay, maybe it’s a simplistic description, but still!) Fantine has discovered at least a tiny bit of snark, though it’s not enough to save her from her tragic decisions. —Je crois bien que je le donnerai! dit la mère. Ce serait cela qui serait drôle si je laissais ma fille toute nue! "Well of course I will give them to you!" said the mother. "Wouldn’t that be something if I left my daughter naked?" Go you, pointing out the ridiculousness of the question! I can’t remember, but we don’t get a derivation for Fantine’s name, do we? Because I’m going to suggest it comes from enfant, which is French for child. Adding the suffix “ine” makes it feminine and childish and I can see that turning quickly to Fantine and everyone just kind of forgetting or not caring that it’s not really a name. And I’m going to stop now because I’ve hit most of my highlights and notes and I’m making less and less sense. Commentary Pilferingapples Reblogging for MASSIVE LANGUAGE FROLICKING, hurrah!XD